Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister

Zoltán KOVÁCS

Government spokesperson

Government spokesperson

There is growing consensus that new candidates are required

May 7, 2019 10:09 AM

There is a growing consensus regarding the fact that new candidates will be required, and it is also obvious that after the European parliamentary elections a new balance of power will develop, Zoltán Kovács, Minister of State for International Communication and Relations at the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister said on the Monday evening programme of the public service television news channel M1.

On Monday Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had talks with Austrian Vice-Chancellor, President of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) Heinz-Christian Strache. The Prime Minister pointed out, among others, that the Hungarian government cannot support the candidacy of Manfred Weber for the position of President of the European Commission. Mr Orbán said that, based on the campaign so far, he believes that the politicians nominated for the position of President of the Brussels Commission – the so-called lead candidates – are not suitable for leading the body. He expects a series of complex talks to precede the election of the prospective president. “We are looking for the right candidate,” he said.

Mr Kovács observed on M1 that lead candidates emerged who do not even represent the will of the electors of their own countries. He mentioned Manfred Weber as an example who comes from a German state where his party does not represent the majority.

The Minister of State was further asked regarding the fact that migration was also a topic at the meeting of Mr Orbán and the Austrian Vice-Chancellor. Mr Kovács said the past three years have proved that if there is the will in a country, it is possible to do what Europe should do, what the Schengen system requires: to protect the borders. This is why Mr Orbán suggested the idea repeatedly – which is one of the items of Mr Orbán’s seven-point proposal – that the management of migration must be taken away from Brussels bureaucrats and given to the interior ministers of the Schengen countries. According to the Minister of State, this solution is supported in more and more European countries, it has met with a positive response even in Germany.